Putting Off the Inevitable

Why did Jesus take so long to actually reach the pinnacle of his ministry. The Pinnacle, of course, being his crucifixion. Why did Jesus wait so long to actually sacrifice himself. If hypotheses about the length of his minstry being three years is correct, then he had plenty of opportunities to get in trouble and reach the cross. A large part of Mark's record of Jesus' ministry includes Jesus' telling everybody to keep his identity a secret.
I understand that we've talked about this already, but Jesus tried to keep himself a secret because he didn't want to die before he was ready. What was it, that he needed to get ready? Did he need to prepare himself, the disciples? Did he need to land the date right?
I think one possible answer can be seen in Peter's confession of Jesus' identity. Jesus asks the disciples who the people claim him to be. They say that the people mostly think of him as a prophet. He asks them who they think he is. Peter steps up and says, "You're Christ." Very good, Peter. Now the Christ is gonna suffer and die. Peter is taken aback by this and rebukes the very guy he just claimed to be the Christ.
Peter had come further than anyone else, in pinning down Jesus and what he was about. Peter was the first to acknowledge Jesus in that way. However, even with that knowledge, Peter still didn't understand Jesus' real mission.
If Jesus had started his minstry and made a quick name for himself and quickly been crucified, nobody would have understood what he was doing. Jesus waited, and elongated his ministry in order to teach the disciples what he was doing and why he was there. A shorter ministry would have left the world debating Jesus' purpose with no real substantial evidence to point to salvation. He needed his followers to understand why he needed to die, in order for them to tell the world what Jesus' sacrifice meant.

Alex H